I think I have played pretty well, and faced a lot of bad luck, but when I play for that long and end up with a crappy result like that, I have to consider, if I have not been playing my best.

I will therefore again start setting aside time for study and review, 2 x 30 minutes a week to start.

I am also considering going back to just playing 12 tables, since I have not had good results since i went from 12 to 16 - even though I dont feel like this is a problem… But again, the results are poor, and I have to consider, that I am doing something less than optimal.

September is going to be a very busy month with work and other projects, so I don’t think I will be able to play more than 40-50 hours of poker.

October, on the other hand, is going to be different. I am spending the entire month in Iceland, and will have lots of time to play poker, and very few (but very attractive ) distractions.

Good luck at the tables.

From there on I pushed the others to make a deal, but the stupid smallstack did not want a deal - and it was a joy to knock him out in third, so he ended up with less chips than a deal would have landed him.

So it was not until I was heads up with a 3 to 2 chiplead, I got a deal.

Anyway, I recorded the last 13 minutes. Not so much for the poker, but more so you can see my desperation and how it worked out in the end, and I could go take care of the family business with very little delay. Keep an eye on the chat, which is least half the fun.

Enjoy!

[See post to watch Flash video]

The result is +4600$ from playing around 85 hours, making the hourly around 54$/h. Best month ever by over 1000$, so that is quite satisfying.

I am still killing at the 22s and 33s, but I can’t seem to beat the 55s - and it is very frustrating. I have now played around 200 55s, and my ROI is -1%. I know it is a very small samplesize, but the tendency is unmistakable. I think the plan will be to table-select the 55s much more, and simply not play them when there are at least two other known solid players.

I also tried adding in multitable tournaments in August. I had one first place of around 1000$ as mentioned in a previous post, but other than that I have not cashed at all (and I think I have played like 20). The variance is HUGE, and I am utterly bored playing fullring, and I don’t think I will be playing many in the near future.

Oh and by the way - I changed my screen name on Party in the past month. It was quite fun for a few days, until the regulars adapted to me again! So fun being seen as a normal donk by the other good players. Unfortunately there is now half a year until I can change my screen name again…

In August my goals are:

• Do at least a handful of reviews using SitNGo Wizard, to sharpen that crucial bubble play
• Play at least 70 hours
• Don’t play 55s with 2 solid regulars in them
• PROFIT!

Getting the most pixels at the best price

If you want to play poker on the monitors (and I am guessing that is why you are here ), you want as many pixels available as possible, so you can view as many tables as possible at the same time, while keeping them in a descent size, so you don’t have to look through a microscope to find out, what that last bet was.

The cheapest 30″ I could find one a Danish price comparison site was 1840$. The resolution is 2560 x 1600 - about 4 million pixels.

The cheapest price for a 1680 x 1050 20″ screen I could find was 264$. This gets you 1.7million pixels. So if you buy 3 x 20″ screens and a second/third graphics card at 100$, you have more pixels available for pokertables - at half the cost!

Advantages of having one 30″

• There are no gaps in the displayed picture, where smaller screens meet
• Only one graphics-card required
• Can be connected to laptop, where as several small monitors cannot (usually only one DVI/VGA out)
• Easier to setup
• Less desk-space required

Advantages of having several smaller screens

• Cheaper solution, you get more screen area for your money
• Watching applications side by side is easier - just drag the window to a screen and maximize. No manual resizing required.
• If one breaks, you still have at least one monitor while you get the broken one replaced

I did that, and won my 6 rakefree days, and just finished playing them during the last 6 days. I did manage to get more hours in than usual, and played 29 hours during the 6 days, earning me around 850$ in rakeback. On top of that I won 1450$ from playing SNG’s - and a MTT-win for 1050$.

So all in all 3350$ in 6 days, that is pretty good and I am happy with the result. I wish Partypoker would have more promotions with such an amazing value.

My month started with an evil downswing, very frustrating… So my current result for this month is just 2600$ as of today. I still aspire to make this my first 4000$ month. Wish me luck!

I hardly ever play multi table tournaments (MTT), because playing boring fullring for hours and hours to get kicked out just before the money is not really a passion of mine.

However, a friend persuaded me to start an MTT while playing SNG’s, so I did. And I ended up making a deal when I was chipleader and heads up, winning me 1050$.

I might add a few MTT’s to my sets of SNG’s in the near future and see, if it was just a one time luckshot…

This makes it possible for me to play 16 tables in full size, 4 on each screen. I don’t yet know if that is better than playing 12, but I am sure I will get used to it and make more money this way.

I had to get a third graphics-card to make this work, and even after that it took me a while to get working. But now it does, and it is awesome!

Here is a picture - sorry about the mess!

In July I will travel quite a bit, but I will also play my 6 rakefree days at PartyPoker (from the VIP promotion a few months back), so I think 50-60 hours is possible.

I hope I run hotter than hell!

I know it is not yet the end of May, but I will not have any more time to play this month because of work and travel, so I wanted to post my results now.

Result: +3000$ from playing 40 hours -> 75$/h

By far the best hourly ever, but I know this is not sustainable - I have been running hot.

This month I have played mostly 22s and 33s, but have also started mixing in 55s, when they are not crowded by other regulars. And there does not seem to be much of a jump skillwise, so I will just continue to mix them in.

I think I will have a lot of time to play next month, and I still have 6 rakefree days at PartyPoker I have to play at some point.

I am also thinking about writing a post on being/becoming a pro/semipro poker player, drop a comment if that is something you would like to hear more about.

Good luck at the tables!

You WILL experience a downswing!

Poker is a game of skill and chance, and even though you can control your own skill and partly that of your opponent (by selecting the right games), you WILL run into a bad downswing. That is not even a “maybe” - you WILL run into a downswing, trust me! And if you are not bankrolled right, these swings might eat your entire bankroll, and you have to start all over again.

My biggest downswings are around 30-40 buyins, and this has happened at least a handful of times. I have the statistical data to back up, that I am in fact a winning player, but never the less, these downswings happen! I always have a very healthy bankroll for the levels I play (some might call me so conservative it hurts), so even though these swings are still emotionally tough, it does not cripple me or force me to move down in stakes.

Casual/recreational players

If you are a casual recreational player, who just play for fun, don’t worry too much about bankroll requirements. But know, that if you play too high compared to your bankroll, you WILL bust eventually (or have to move down in stakes). But have fun with it, and send me a “Don’t taze me, bro!” in the chat when I’m at your table, stealing your blinds…

Semi-Pro players

My definition of a semi-pro is a guy like me, who plays a lot of poker to make some extra money and have fun with it. If we do not make any money, it is not a disaster, and it will not mean being kicked out of our apartment or having to live off the trashcan-buffet. In my opinion, your bankroll should at least be 100 buyins, and this is also supported by a lot of people on 2+2 and other poker forums. So in order to play the $22’s, you need at least $2200.

Fulltime Pro Players

If poker is your main source of income, things get a bit more serious. I would recommend keeping at least 200 buyins at all times (after withdrawing the expenses for living). This will make swings much easier to live with, and it will let you avoid moving down during downswings, which might cripple your earnings - and you will not be able to pay your rent without touching your bankroll. Also, I think full time pros should really keep 4-6 months of minimum living expenses separate from their bankroll, to cover unforeseen expenses - but I guess that is also a matter of how safe you need to feel.

Risk of ruin depends on how good you are

Of course if you are playing at a lever your are absolutely crushing, bankroll requirements are less than if you are just barely beating the rake. The bigger the ROI (return on investment), the less bankroll you need. The above rules are just rules of thumb - not real rules. So do whatever you feel comfortable with, as long as you make an informed decision.